Harpoon hay-fork



(No Model.)

J. S. BURNING.

HARPOON HAY PORK.

No. 414,303. Patented Nov. 5, 1889.

t s a N. PETERS. Phowrunwgmpher. wnsmngm n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH S. BURNING, OF EMSWORTH, PENNSYLVANIA.

HARPOON HAY-FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 414,308, dated November 5, 1889.

Application filed September 13, 1889- Serial No. 323,806. (No model.)

To a/ZZ 1072/077@ t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH S. DURNING, a resident of Emsworth, inthe county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Ilarpoon Hay-Forks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to what are known as horse hay-forks, these forks being employed for loading and unloadingl large bodies of hay. The most improved .form of this hayfork is one having a single body or case pointed at the end and adapted to vbe driven into the hay and having barbs at the lower end, which are then forced out into the hay, and so act to hold the hay together upon the fork; The hay-forks as heretofore constructed have generally been provided with apparatus containing springs for locking the plunger in such position as to hold the barbs within or proj ected from the case, and, besides adding considerably to the cost of manufacture of the fork, these springs are liable to get out of order, and therefore render the fork useless or necessitate the repair of the same, while the form of locking` device requires a large number of part-s, which increase the cost of the fork. One object of my invention is therefore to provide a simple and durable locking or tripping device for the fork. As heretofore constructed these forks have also been generally made part of wrought met-al, the outer case being formed of wrought metal and having a point welded at the base thereof, and this also increase the cost of and labor of making the fork. Another object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty and enable the body of the fork to be cast to shape.

To these ends my invention consists, generally stated, in the harpoon hay-fork having pivoted at the upper end of the case an oblong` dog and combined therewith a plunger provided at the upper end with a slot, through which said dog passes, said slot having enlargements at different points therein, within which the dog can be locked by turning the same, a simple form of locking or tripping device being thus provided, in which, when the dog is turned across an enlargement of the slot, the plunger is held from moving; but when the dog is turned in line with the slot it will pass through the same, so permitting the movement of the plunger and the projecting or withdrawal of the barbs.

It also consists in a ease for the fork, formed in two pieces, cast to shape, and connected at the base in the pointed portion thereof by a dovetailed or like joint, such construction permitting the casting of the parts to shape and the securing of the same together at but little cost.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a side view of a fork embodying my invention, showing the barbs within the case. Fig. 2 is a like view showing the barbs projected from the case. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views showing the fork in the same positions, respectively. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the locking-dog, and Figs. G and 7 are views showing the dog in cross-section and illustrating the movement of the fork.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

The case A of the fork is formed of two parts or straps c, b, these two parts being generally cast to shape and being subsequently malleableized. At the upper end of the fork these two parts are connected by the rivet c, which extends through both parts a b of the case and is upset to secure the two parts together. At the lower end of the case is formed a point d, the part a having block e having the point d formed thereupon and one-half of the body of the point, and also having the inwardly-inclining face f, so forminga seat into which the block g at the end of the part or strap b fits. Said block g has at the base thereof an inclining face t', corresponding to the inclining face f and fitting therein, so that when the two blocks c g are both brought together they may be rigidly secured by the rivet h and the two parts held rigidly in line by said faces f t', which thus form practically a dovetailed joint. The two parts of the case are thus secured together by the rivets c and h. After the fork has been secured together in this way its point may be ground and polished, so as to bring the casing to a proper point, and in so doing the faces of the rivet h will be ground off, so as to form a perfect point on the fork-case. The plunger is also cast to shape and carries at the base thereof the barbs Z, which are projected through and withdrawn into the case through openings formed in the straps a b thereof, as is the usual construction in this class of forks. At the upper end of the plunger Za is formed the slot m, the rivet c passing through this slot, as shown, and the slot having the enlargements or seats fn, 2in-the one at the upper end thereof and the other near the base-but the slot having an extension m below-the seat p, into which the rivet c will iit when the plunger is raised, as shown in Figs. l and 3.

Pivoted in the fork-case in the side ribs a b thereof is the dog r, this dog being oblong in cross-section, its thinnest portion being of suchsize as to pass easily through the slot m,

' while its thickest portion corresponds to the size of the seats n p. The dog has preferably the form of acylinder with the sides removed, as-shown. The dog is secured in place before the fork is riveted together, and is of such length that it will move easily within the case, the dog being operated by the tripping-arm s, which, as shown, is bent around, so as to lie under the handlet of the plunger when the plunger is lowered within the case, the tripping-arm being so arranged to prevent the movement of the same bycontact with any object while the fork is carrying its load. On this tripping-arm is the lug u, which controls the movement of the arm, the lug striking against the body ofthe case when the arm is either raised orlowered, and so forming a guide to bring the dog into whichever position desired, either for locking the plunger in the case or permitting the longitudinal movement thereof when the dog coincides in position to the slot fm in the plunger.

In forming the fork the plunger k is placed between the side ribs a b of the case, the rivet c and the dog r being inserted through the slot m, and the parts of the fork being thus brought into proper line. The rivet c,

passing through the straps, and the rivet h,

passing through the blocks e g, are then upset or riveted in the ordinary way,so securing the parts of the fork together, it only being necessaryto attach the handle to the dog and vgrind and polish the point d of the fork.

When the fork -is in use, the carrying-rope is secured to the handle t and the trippingrope to the tripping-arm s. The plunger is then drawn up into its raised posit-ion, as shown in Fig. Land the tripping-arm turned so that the dog r lits into the seat 19 of the slot m, so that the plunger is in its raised` position and holding the parts Within thecase. The fork is then forced into the hay, and when buried therein the tripping-arm is drawn down until the dog 0' coincides with the slot fm, and by forcing down the plunger 7e the barbs Z are projected into the hay, and as soon as the dog 'r enters the seat n at the upper end of the slot m the dog can be turned so as to throw it across said seat and lock the plunger in that position. The fork can then be raised, and the body of hay may be lifted by the fork and carried by the rope to the desired position. Vhen the hay is brought to the position at which it is to be dropped, all that is necessary is to draw down on the cord on the tripping-arm s by means of the cord attached thereto until 'the dog r coincides with the slot fm, when the weight of the case and the hay supported thereon will draw down the case, so causing the withdrawal of the barbs into the case and the discharge4 of the load from the fork.

I am thus enabled to providepa fork which is entirely free from springs or other such parts as are liable to lose their tension and cause the fork to get out of order. I have also reduced the number of parts and simplified the construction of the fork7 while at the same time I have obtained a fork which is durable and positive in its action. The case of the fork can also be made -much more cheaply than heretofore constructed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In harpoon horse hay-forks, the combination of a ca'se having an oblong pivoted dog therein, and a plunger moving within said case and having a slot within which said dog fits, said slot having seats or enlargements therein, substantially as and for the purposes set fort-h.

2. In harpoon horse hay-forks, the case having the side rib a, provided with a block e, carrying the point d at the end, and the side rib b, having the block r, iitting into the block e to form the point, said blocks being secured together, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In harpoon horse hay-forks, a case having the side rib a, provided with the block e, carrying the point d, and having the in- Wardly-inclining face f, and the side rib b, having the block g, fitting against the block e and into the dovetailed seat formed by the inclining face f, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In harpoon horse hay-forks, the 'combi. nation of the case having the two side ribs secured together at the upper end by the rivet c, and having the oblong locking-dog fr, pivoted therein above said rivet, and the plunger 7c, having the slot m, through which said rivet c and dog r extend, said slot having the seat n at the upper end and the enlarged seat p near the lower end, and having an extension fm. below the seat p, into which lthe rivet c fits, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOSEPH S. DURNING, have hereunto set my hand.

' JOSEPH S. DURNING. 'Vitnesses:

J. N. COOKE, c E. G. MILLER.

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